If we are asked to mention an historical coffee house in Italy, our mind goes to the Florian café in Venice (see our previous blog here). But, what about Rome?

Located in the elegant Via Condotti, in the very heart of Rome, is the Antco Caffe Greco; the second oldest coffee house in Italy, after the venetian Florian café. Meeting point for artists and intellectuals since the nineteenth century, it has been repeatedly portrayed in sketches and paintings, and had among its patrons even Schopenhauer, Franz Liszt, Stendhal, Wagner and Orson Welles. The Antico caffe’ Greco, with 300 ar works on display, is also one of the largest private art galleries open to public .
A few minutes walking from Via Condotti you can find Coffee Museum Atelier Canova Tadolini, in Via del Babbuino, where at the end of XVIII century Antonio Canova, the greatest exponent of Italian Neoclassicism, had set up his laboratory. Here, you can sip good coffee surrounded by an exceptional collection of sculptures.

In Via della Pace, located a few steps from Piazza Navona, you can find the Antico Caffè della Pace. Art Nouveau style for this nineteenth century coffee house, characterized by the ancient wooden furniture and facade covered with Virginia creeper. It was once a very trendy place, and it is still frequented by intellectuals and international stars.
Near Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, right in front of the Senate of the Italian Republic, there is the Caffè Sant’Eustachio. This coffee shop dates back to 1930’s and it still has the same furniture and the same floor of that era. Its emblem is the deer, the symbol of Sant’Eustachio.
Finally, the first tea room in Rome: Babington tea Room. Established in 1893 by Isabel Cargill and Anna Maria Babington, this tea and reading room was the result of the many Anglo-Saxons living in Rome who needed a place where they could drink their favourite beverage. Even today, this place overlooking the Spanish Steps is beloved by tea lovers who can find all the tea qualities and can breathe a quiet and reserved atmosphere. The XIX century style furniture , the wooden tables the teapots and exclusive porcelain make Babington tea room even more magical.

When talking about historical coffee houses, you cannot help but mentioning Venice. It is in the lagoon city that the coffee tradition was born thanks to its location and the trade relations with the Arab world. The real explosion of the phenomenon “coffee house” takes place in the 1700, with the launch of numerous clubs. Among them, the most famous and the oldest one is definitely the caffé Florian, which is still the symbol of the city. A tour among the best known historical Venetian coffee houses starts here, right under the arcades of the Procuratie Nuove in St. Mark’s Square.

Caffè Florian was founded in 1720 opened under the name “Alla Venezia Trionfante” (Venice the Triumphant). Since the beginning, this elegant building was characterized by its exclusive products and acquaintances: it was the place where politicians and intellectuals met (such as Carlo Goldoni and Casanova and, more recently, Gabriele d’Annunzio).
Today, the Caffé Florian still maintains the charm of the times it lived. With its architecture, the result of restoration and reconstruction, and the richly decorated interiors, the caffè is an important cultural center and, at the same time, a perfect place to enjoy an espresso a few steps from the Grand Canal.

Always in St. Mark square, there is another historic café; after Stendhal, LordByron, AlexandreDumas, Wagner, Marcel Proust, even today, the Gran Caffe Quadri is the favorite place for actors and directors attending the Venice Film Festival in Venice, including Woody Allen.

More recent, but equally fascinating, the history of Harry’s Bar begins in 1931. Built from an old warehouse next to St. Mark square, in this place spent time intellectuals, artists and writers such as Arturo Toscanini, Guglielmo Marconi, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and PeggyGuggenheim.

In the Lido area, finally, is the Lion’s bar, designed in 1925 to offer visitors and tourists a shining example of the Art Deco.